The right shade of maroon took the win in San Marcos.
On the night Texas State dedicated the renaming of Bobcat Ballpark to Irvine-Rasmussen Ballpark, the Bobcats took down No. 18 ranked Texas A&M 9-8 in a thrilling offensive game.
“Honestly, it means a lot to us,” Junior Jaquae Stewart said. “The work that we put in and stuff like that. Day in, day out how much time we spend, so I think that was a much needed win here at home.”
Texas State improves to 22-10 overall while Texas A&M falls to 25-7. It also marks the Bobcats first win over the Aggies at Irvine-Rasmussen Ballpark since 2013.
“We played some good baseball, especially against a good team but we just haven't made that final punch to finish the game,” Head Coach Steven Trout said. “But on the night when we obviously renamed the ballpark, a lot of people in the stands, obviously a great team on that side of it, great atmospheres, it was a great baseball game. We actually didn't really play too well to be honest with you.
We offensively played pretty good but defensively [we had] too many walks. But we just kept making pitches we needed to, and got some swings we needed to.”
The Aggies scored first following the Bobcat error, scoring on a bloop double to take the early 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
Texas A&M scored another run on an RBI single, extending their lead to 2-0.
In the top of the second, Texas A&M added another run, scoring on a solo home run in left-center field to make it a 3-0 game.
Bobcats bats got to work in the bottom of the second.
Starting off the at-bat, junior Manny Salas crushed a leadoff home run into left field for the Bobcats first run of the game.
Texas State then put runners on second and third with two outs following a hit by pitch from senior Chase Mora then a double from freshman Clayton Namken.
Junior Justin Vossos, a former Aggie, then connected with a two-run double in left as Texas State tied the game at 3-3.
In the bottom of the third, Texas State took the lead when redshirt sophomore Ethan Farris hit a sacrifice fly to score senior Rashawn Galloway at third.
Later with a runner on first, junior Jaquae Stewart crushed a two-run home run in center field that bounced off the batter’s eye to put Texas State up 6-3.
“On the homer, I was just trying to give my best bullet,” Stewart said. “Not trying to do too much and use the big part of the field.”
The Aggies made it a one-run game in the top of the fourth, hitting a two-run home run.
In the top of sixth, the Aggies tied the game on an RBI single through the left side before taking the lead on an RBI double as the Bobcats found themselves down 7-6.
Texas State turned the bats back on in the bottom of the seventh.
“Our offense is really selfless, wanting to pass the bat to each other,” Stewart said. “
Understanding that there are eight other guys behind me and letting everybody else get the work as well. So just trusting in the process and just being selfless, that's it.”
With runners on the corners and two outs, Farris hit an RBI double, tying the game at 7-7.
Following Farris, Stewart hit a two-run RBI single as Farris beat the throw home, putting Texas State back up 9-7.
“When you have a guy like Farris, he kind of gets you fired up, right?” Stewart said. “So him hitting that double in the gap just kind of gave me hope and understanding that we have 8 other guys that can go.”
The Aggies looked to make their comeback in the top of the ninth, scoring on a passed ball to cut their deficit down to 9-8.
But freshman Wade Cooper slammed the door shut on the A&M comeback, sealing the win.
So when the game's on the line, we want our best guy to have the ball, and he's got it,” Trout said. “Even though he's young he’s a tough guy.
He gets a little excited sometimes and throws one for the gun every once in a while. But he wants the ball in those moments.”
Texas State returns home Wednesday night against Stephen F. Austin.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
